Days 3 and 4 - Making Lemonade out of Lemons

Ok, so probably not the greatest start in the history of cross-country trips, either by bike or car. After breaking down in Braidwood, Illinois on Saturday, we had to spend Sunday and Monday in Braidwood, and probably won't be able to leave until Wednesday at the earliest. The fifth wheel hitch of the support vehicle (name coming soon) broke, and we spent Saturday and Sunday nights in the parking lot of Jones-Eez BBQ restaurant. On the plus side, the people in Braidwood have been fantastic to us (giving us a ride to the gas station when we needed more fuel for the generator, letting us plug into the electricity at Jones-Eez, and giving us a VIP tour of the historical museum).

We limped the support vehicle to the EZ Living RV Center today, and made the difficult decision to have the entire fifth wheel hitch replaced. This was the second unit Debi has had, and both of them have had issues. She has decided to switch companies, and we are now waiting on the necessary parts, as the model she needs is not in stock. Hopefully it will get here tomorrow, and there is a slight possibility we can be rolling again late tomorrow afternoon, or maybe Wednesday.

As for the lemonade, we decided to seek air conditioning, and went to see Incredibles 2 (at Addy's request). All of us needed a good laugh, and it provided plenty of them. We then wandered around the mall in Joliet (this had the closest movie theater), and the air conditioning was fantastic! Driving back into Braidwood, we stopped at the famous Polka Dot Drive-In restaurant, and had a great diner meal.

After driving back to the support vehicle, I decided to go for a quick ride, and headed out. It was now approaching dusk, and I could see some serious clouds rolling in. I tried to stay out for as many miles as possible, but the lighting was coming in fast, and I was able to only get 12 in before the combination of darkness and lightning in the area made it just too dangerous. As I have said on many occasions, I might be an idiot, but I'm not stupid.

Total miles on the bike: 87 (frowning face emoji, screaming face emoji, fumes coming out of nose emoji).

Hopefully it will all come together soon. Cheers!

Days 3 and 4, we were stuck in Braidwood, Illinois (super nice community!). I went for a short ride on day 4 just to get some miles in.